I see, thank you.
But there is still another thing that I don't understand: I've seen that, say, Vibiemmes have a sort of exhaust pipe that convey water out of the valve into the drip tray. The Lelit doesn't have this pipe, so where does it exhaust the pressure? Not in the water reservoir, I hope...

I'm not familiar with the Le'Lit. If it has a 3-way valve, you will hear a "whoosh" as water is expelled from the brew chamber into the driptray. No whoosh = no 3-way valve = you must wait for the pressure to leech away before removing the portafilter, otherwise you will learn why they call premature removal "the portafilter sneeze".

seymour wrote: I am a bit concerned about buying something that is difficult to use or needs work since I don't know anything (aside from what I've read) about how these machines are supposed to operate.

Many of the regulars here are enthusiasts who take for granted that a questioner's enthusiasm for espresso machines and espresso-making is now, or eventually will come to be, on a par with their own. Would you receive sound advice on a good family sedan on the NASCAR forum? This may not be the group to ask, as they are likely to recommend a 500 horsepower hemi with a hair-trigger clutch to even the most timid espresso-driver.

If you are concerned about having to learn which buttons to push or how to grind the beans and fill the basket, that's easy, despite all the (largely unnecessary) rigmarole you'll read about; but if you are concerned about how to manage the temperature on your machine, that's not so easy; too hot and the espresso is very bitter, or too cool and it's sour, and in either case the espresso tastes like swill.

The Silvia and machines in its general class (single boiler, dual-purpose: brew + steam) are often recommended as entry-level "real" espresso machines to newbies. But as was pointed out above, it is not easy to control brew-temperature on these machines (in their stock, unmodified form) and you may be very disappointed in your purchase.

The grinder is indeed very important. But you can save $100-$150 if you buy a quality adjustable hand-grinder designed for espresso, and you can then apply that money towards a machine for which brew-temperature management is not as difficult as driving a stick shift can be for some novice drivers. I would not recommend the prosumer/catering class of machine. They're big, bulky, noisy (if vibe pump rather than rotary pump), take a relatively long time to heat up (no spur-of-the-moment espresso drinks unless the machines stay on all the time).

Check out the Ponte Vecchio Lusso. I'd gladly recommend another domestic spring lever machine with a thermosyphon group if one existed, since the PV Lusso is not the end-all-be-all by any means. But it's the least expensive "real" espresso machine for which temperature management is something the home-user can pretty much forget about. You might also consider the Ponte Vecchio Export if you're only going to make two or three drinks at once. Very small footprint, comes to temperature quickly, simplicity itself to operate.

I know that the Le'Lit PL041 does have a 3-way solenoid valve. But reading Le'Lit's website, it does not appear as though the Le'Lit PL051 is equipped with a 3-way solenoid. That being the case, you will have to let the pressure equalize before removing the portafilter.

zin1953 wrote:I know that the Le'Lit PL041 does have a 3-way solenoid valve. But reading Le'Lit's website, it does not appear as though the Le'Lit PL051 is equipped with a 3-way solenoid. That being the case, you will have to let the pressure equalize before removing the portafilter.

I thought it would be quite strange if Lelit made so similar machines one with, the other w/o valve. In the end Lelit is not primarly a coffee equipment producer, it would be quite costly for them.
But actually I never unlock the portafilter immediatly after the shot. Everything may be. I'll try.

I can't really tell you what you should do, but what I can do is tell you what I did in a similar situation and how I feel about it. I went on ebay and picked up an "open box" Gaggia Espresso for around $130. It's a bit older model but essentially identical inside to all of the Gaggias that don't have 3 way valves. I also went together with my brother on a package deal from WLL for a Brewtus II and Mazzer Mini - also "open box" deals and nicely discounted. The Mazzer set me back around $350 so my total came in at just under $500. This combination has worked very well for me for the most part, although I occasionally wish I'd taken my wife at her word and just gotten 'whichever one will not require upgrading later', but realistically this machine makes quite good espresso once you get used to it's quirks. I'm very glad I got a good grinder, especially since grinder prices seem to have gone way up lately.

One day I will probably upgrade to a nice dual boiler machine with easily controlled temperature, probably some time around when my Gaggia dies. Problem with that is that I'm pretty handy with appliances and I can probably keep it going a long time. In the mean time I pull shots that are quite good. Not as consistently good as you'd get in a top notch place like Discovery in Victoria or Coyotes in Nanaimo, but as good as the best place here in Courtenay and much better than most of the rest here.

Whether a set up like mine would suit you depends on a few things. Are you patient enough to wait for good deals, do you have the patience to learn how to get the most out of a lower end (well, lower end compared to what most here on HB use) machine and do you mind the lack of a 3 way valve? Alternately, you could look up the scale. I don't think you'd get enough improvement in espresso quality from a Silvia, but you do get a 3 way, which is handy. An HX machine is a good way to go, still requires a bit of temperature surfing but with a bit of work will get you some excellent espresso. Any machine with PID temperature control is a great asset, and of course the tighter the temperature band the better.

That said, the machine is really not the place that you get the biggest improvement in coffee. First and foremost you need quality beans. Perhaps you already order from Intelligentsia or some other reputable roaster - or perhaps you already roast your own beans. If you don't have fresh roasted (newer than 2-3 weeks) beans you are missing out on the biggest improvement in espresso quality. The next biggest improvement is in your grinder. As others have pointed out, there are some pretty good alternatives with the smaller conical grinders like the Lux and it's compatriots. Remember that these are essentially going to be single use grinders, you won't be able to switch them to drip or press pot and back to espresso - the micro adjustments are great for dialing in espresso grinds, but terrible for large adjustments. I found a good balance between espresso quality and ability to make drip or other coffee with a Mazzer Mini (although a used Mazzer Super Jolly is a great way to go as well). Of course it's priced higher than the Lux and company. I have made decent espresso with a whirly grinder, but it's far too varied in the grind it produces and a good 20-30% are sink shots even when you have practiced a lot.

Finally in all this there is the human factor. Just like with cooking it takes practice and attention to detail to get good results. Learning which factors cause various tastes in your espresso takes practice. My brother with his fancy machine was getting sour espresso from a new bean he was trying recently. The solution was to do one of two things - either get a darker roast from the bean or raise the brew temperature on his Brewtus. Every bean is different and that's one of the fun things about this hobby.

Wow! very nice Marco, looks like a great combination, and i envy your skill. and a clever idea to post a video.

i ended up buying a Gaggia Achille and Macap MC4 -- both refurbs so the cost was just over $1000 (husband not pleased but distracted by other life events, so marriage still intact).

i'm now trying to learn all the techniques for making an espresso that isn't bitter or sour. several good beans have given their lives in this effort. soon i will have enough of tweaking parameters and start asking for advice and your video seems like a great way to do it. thanks for posting it.

Well, I don't really think that my technique is good enough, but thanks anyway!
As far as I understood, you'll have a very hard time with your machine, seems like lever machine have a steep learning curve.
Have fun with it!

seymour wrote:i ended up buying a Gaggia Achille and Macap MC4 -- both refurbs so the cost was just over $1000 ...

i'm now trying to learn all the techniques for making an espresso that isn't bitter or sour.

There are plenty of discussions on H-B.com of how heat-exchanger (HX) machines like the Achille work, and in the review of the machine there are discussions of flushing regimens.

Some basic points to bear in mind:

The pressurestat sets the pressure inside the boiler, and pressure determines boiler temperature. Since water under pressure can exceed 212° F, the temperature of the water inside the boiler can be 20 or 30 degrees hotter than what you want for espresso. That's a huge number when you consider that a difference of only a couple of degrees can have a significant impact on espresso flavor. You want brew water to be approximately 200° F plus or minus about 6°. That's the entire target, not the bullseye. The bullseye changes from roast to roast, blend to blend, but the target remains pretty much the same.

On HX machines, the boiler water is not the brew water; the boiler water is for producing steam and for heating the brew water, which passes through the boiler in an enclosed tube. The temperature of the water inside that tube is superheated. The goal of the flushing is to empty the tube of the superheated water, so that the tube is filled with fresh cool water, and to give the boiler enough time to heat, but not to overheat, the new fresh water, taking into account the capacity of the group brass to draw some excess heat out of the water. A longer flush brings more cool water to the group, increasing its capacity to draw more heat from the water.

Which brings us back to the pressurestat. The higher the pressurestat setting, the less time it takes to superheat the fresh incoming water, because as pressure increases so does boiler temperature. To make your machine more forgiving -- to lower its temperature and lengthen that rebound time-window-- you can lower the pressurestat.

In a domestic setting, when you're not entertaining but making a few drinks, a quick rebound is unnecessary and IMO undesirable. It is important for catering, to keep up with milk-steaming demands of impatient customers, so bear that in mind when you see people praising a machine's quick rebound. No manufacturer wants their machine to get a reputation for anemic steam, so they often set the pressurestat higher than it needs to be for domestic duty.